


Aerin

by SperoDeoVolente (DarthUmbreon)



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Gen, Political Alliances, Political Asylum, Revenge, Sanctuary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22999240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthUmbreon/pseuds/SperoDeoVolente
Summary: My take on how Aerin interacted with Sador, and why she set the hall on fire.
Comments: 2
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	Aerin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Talullah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talullah/gifts).



> Dear Giftee, I appreciated your detailed letter. One of the first authors to show me fantasy was Tolkien, far back in the days I lurked in the corners of my middle school library during lunch. It was a joy to revisit the stories!

Thin slivers of moonlight sliced through the gloom providing Aerin limited illumination. Her eyes were hard and her feet swift against the cold stone floor. Each step of her feet was silent, all the sounds muffled by her thick slippers. Aerin had asked her husband for slippers made of supple leather and thick wool. It was his foolishness that allowed her the ability to run without sound. Under one arm was a basket full of food and drink.

When she reached the small servant entrance, Aerin rapped her knuckles against the door in quickly, rap-A-rap-TAP. The door opened and she slipped past Sador. Next to Sador sat Túrin, son of Morwen. She bowed the bottom of her basket scraping against the ground. 

"Welcome to Hithlum, Túrin son of Morwen," Aerin straightened and started placing the drink on a small table. "Please excuse my humble offerings. I thought I was feeding one other."

"Don't prostrate yourself for me Aerin!"

Before she could finish emptying the basket, she found herself ushered across the small room and offered the only chair. Sador and Túrin pulled out the remaining goods and divided them equally. The first cup of mulled cider was lightly pushed into her hands. She allowed herself a single sip of the beverage.

"Sador was telling me that you helped my mother."

"I did my best to keep her safe. Morwen is a dear friend," Aerin took small bites on her loaf of bread. Her eyes glanced down at her reflection in the cider. Eyes heavy with black bags looked back at her, exhausted and spent.

"Is it true that you tricked the entire Easterling army," Túrin looked at her, his eyes wide and bright. Next to him, Sador ate his bread with large bites, crumbs falling around his feet. Both men were focused on her.

"I merely used simple alchemy. Easterlings are a superstitious group, it was easy to convince them that Morwen was a powerful witch," Aerin smiled softly at her reflection before looking away. Her eyes found Túrin's and she held back tears at the overwhelming kindness she found in them. "I merely provided flashy displays. Morwen was the one who used them to her advantage."

"My gratitude remains," Túrin spoke softly with eyes blazing brighter than a Simaril. "You have my undying appreciation for your part in keeping my mother alive and safe."

"Brodda took so much from me… my people have suffered so much… that I am glad to defy him however I can," Aerin choked up and her face was damp. She took the handkerchief Sador offered her. After the tears were gone she offered up a tiny smile.

"Aerin, please take me to my mother. I want to see her again. I have to make sure she's alright with my own eyes!" Túrin leaped up and went over Aerin. He dropped to his knees and rested his hands on her lap, clasped together and shaking.

Aerin gazed into the fervent face of Túrin son of Morwen. In his eyes, she saw a burning passion, a strength of will that blazed hotter than her own hatred of Brodda. What she could not do, she was certain Túrin would make real. Now was the time to speak the horrible truth and spark the flames of her revenge.

"I cannot do that Túrin son of Morwen," Aerin placed her fingers against his lips. She held his eyes with her own. "My husband's actions scared Morwen to the point of all-consuming terror. Nothing I did was enough for her to feel safe. I helped her safely Hithlum in the dark of night years ago."

"...Aerin, for the sake of all that you have done for my family, I beg you to stay hidden. I'm going to destroy Brodda and not even you can stop me. Come, Sador, we have much to do."

In silence, Túrin son of Morwen, and Sador gathered their weapons. They left the small servants quarter without another look her way. Aerin released all the air she had been holding and she stood up. Food forgotten, she gathered up the remaining mulled cider. She grabbed one of the candles Sador had been using. Around her, the sounds of screaming echoed down the stone hallway. 

Without pause, she walked into the throne room. Aerin tossed the gaudy tapestries embroidered with her husband's face over the throne. Steady hands poured mulled cider all over the fabric before she set it on fire. The few passing glances from the Easterlings fleeing didn't bother Aerin. Hithlum was her home, she wasn't afraid. Before the flames reached her, Aerin slipped through one of many hidden passageways. Before the first light of dawn crossed the threshold, her husband would be dead. Aerin knew that it was only a tiny fraction of what she needed to do to help her people. 

None of the people she loved would mention the hidden passageways. Aerin was safe to let her persona, Wife of Brodda, die in the inferno. Soon she would be reborn and she would protect her people free from the tyranny that had been her husband. Aerin smiled and started laughing with each joyful step.

>


End file.
